Pages

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Infinity does Xenos right! Meet some friends o' mine.

Hey, folks. SinSynn here.

Anybody that reads my stuffs over at the House of Paincakes knows that I've totally fallen head over heels for Infinity. I've tried my hand at a buncha different games now, and invested a few dollars (maybe thousands, actually...don't you judge me) on several of them, but I've never been quite as obsessed with any of them the way I am with Infinity right now.
I'm literally ashamed (ok, not really...I'm just being dramatic. I have no shame) of the money I've spent on 40k. Ditto that for Flames of War (I've got two untouched starter sets, even, along with several boxes of tanks, troopies and halftracks). I even somehow managed to acquire a small Cryx army for Warmachine and played a few games back in the day, but my regular opponent suffered 'spousal hobby interference' (that's totally a thing) and Warmachine fell to the wayside.

Ah, but Infinity...I gotta tell ya, folks...Infinity is already like, my game. It's the one I've been looking for, the one I've been waiting on and the one I was hoping to find, all wrapped up in a sexy, anime-styled, bullet-filled pinata.

Every Saturday for the past month I've played until the Crazy Lady I Live With puts a stop to it, usually between midnight and 2am. And yes, I get punished with extra doggie walks and garbage duty...never mind the seemingly inevitable hangovers.
-_-

You know what?Totally worth it.

I mean, look at this- this is a soon to be released figure for my Army of choice, the Combined. How could I resist something like this?

*Kerrigan from Starcraft tribute, fer sure. But oh so awesome*

It seems that, way in the future, mankind has spread to the stars, and has begun to be successful in doing so. Under the watchful eye of a hyper-advanced Artificial Intelligence known as ALEPH, and governed by the O-12 (which is sorta like a futuristic United Nations), trade and travel is facilitated by mass-conveyance ships known as Circulars, gigantic spacecraft that navigate the wormholes between star systems.
Conventional warfare is a thing of the past- the logistics of moving massive armies across the enormous gulf of space between civilized planets being somewhat inconvenient. Never the less, the super-powers of the future, as well as the also-rans, battle it out on the fringes of colonized space, as well as engage in covert spec-ops against one another.
They fight for the same things humans have always fought for- resources, territory, and power, and it's all business as usual until the Xenos show up.
:)

My Infinity army of choice are the Combined, an amalgam of several alien races bought together by an ancient race known as the Ur Rationalists. The Ur seek to transcend to a higher plane of existence (possibly one where all the females resemble Megan Fox...at least that's the way I see it), and to that end they created the Evolved Intelligence, a program designed to compile all the data, ever, and piece together the secrets of Transcendence.

*I'd like to transcend her plane, if you know what I'm sayin.' And I think you do*

Along the way, the Ur and their EI have conquered, subsumed and come to accordance with many other alien races. These races supply the foot soldiers needed to continue the quest to reach the Megan Fox plane. More than that, every once in a while the EI itself likes to make a personal appearance, and breaks a lil' bit of its existential self off to inhabit heavily armed robotic constructs...so it can stomp some worthless humans up close and personal-like.

*The boss shows up to crack the whip every now and then*

So, yeah. Totally obsessed with Infinity of late.
I thought I'd write up this little post to introduce you to a couple of my new friends...

He comes standard with Thermo-Optic Camoflage, which when combined with the regular advantage that simply placing him in cover can provide, adds up to a massive negative modifier getting applied to anyone attempting to shoot at him (minus 9 altogether, actually).
That's if they're successful in discovering him first, of course. Until he's discovered, he's just a unidentified marker on the table. My opponent doesn't know if he's an anti-personnel mine, some sorta weird alien Seed-Soldier (yeah, we got those too), or one of the many other TO Camo guys or girls I can field...
If an undiscovered camo model shoots, the target gets no Automatic Reaction Order (ARO) unless he/she survives. Camo models reveal themselves when they shoot, of course, but a dead troopie can't see anyway.
:)

Add those extremely annoying attributes to the fact that Malignos can be equipped with a MULTI Sniper Rifle, capable of shooting Armor Piercing or Dual Action ammo (which forces the victim to make two armor saves for each wound inflicted), and you've got a model that opponents will just absolutely hate.

And even if someone does manage to shoot him in whatever passes for a spleen in his alien body, he also has what's known as an AutoMedkit, so you'd better shoot him twice, cuz during my turn he might very well get right back up, if I can pass a Physical (PH) roll of 12 or less.

But wait- it gets worse: he also Infiltrates, meaning he can show up virtually anywhere- even in the enemy deployment zone if I feel like taking a chance and passing a die roll. TO Camo also grants me Hidden Deployment, where your opponent turns around, and you take a picture of the spot you want to deploy him with your cell phone, and he remains completely invisible until you feel it's time for him to strike.*overly toothy evil Xenos grin*
The downside to Hidden Deployment is that while he's hidden, Malignos won't be contributing an Order to my Order pool, and I'm gonna need Orders in the early game to run around murkin' fools with the big guy...

Meet da Sphinx!

*Show me a fool, an' I'll murk 'im*

The Sphinx is a TAG, which is kinda like the Infinity equivalent of a tank...just with legs, instead of tracks, treads or wheels. TAGS are heavily armed and armored, and needless to say can be quite a handful to deal with when they show up on the battlefield.
My buddy Sphinx here, much like Malignos, is part of the Combined faction known as the Shasvastii. Or as I call them, the Sneaky Sneakies.
He comes with TO Camo too.*extra-wide, overly toothy Xenos Cheshire-Cat-style grin*
So go ahead and succeed with that 'Discover' roll, buddy, cuz guess who's coming to dinner?Oh, and by the way- you're totally dinner.
:)

Dual Heavy Flamethrowers ensure that enemies get served up extra crispy, and he's got a Spitfire for medium to occasionally long ranged shooting. The Spitfire is a decent weapon, but it's no Heavy Machine Gun.
Sphinx wants to get into flaming range (a standard-sized teardrop shape template). In the event that anyone is dumb enough to get within swatting range, Sphinx has an Explosive CC weapon.
No, fer real- it explodes when he smacks you with it. Please pass three Armor Saves if you wish to continue living. In the event that you actually manage to do that, I'll be sure to swat you again, so it's prolly in yer best interest to just...not get up. Heh.

These are just two of the many models I've played around with since beginning Infinity. Malignos is already a fixture in virtually every list I write. He's a skirmisher, and although that's a specialized class in Infinity, he's not too expensive, points-wise- he clocks in at 47 points with the MULTI Sniper Rifle. TO Camo means I can keep him mobile and stalking prey, since he doesn't rely exclusively on cover provided by terrain.
Malignos has racked up an impressive kill tally for me- it's a rare game he doesn't kill at least two enemy troopies.He's an absolute menace, and I luvs him.

*Yes, he has bad posture and a worse attitude. He also drools and lisps. But damn, he's so sexy*

Sphinx is a little harder to work into a proper list, since he's somewhat costly, points-wise. Unit costs in Infinity are extremely well-balanced, and you get what you pay for...you just need to make use of what you've purchased. Even the most powerful model can be gunned down if you leave him flopping around in the breeze, unsupported.Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
I'm still working out the best way to get my sneaky sneaky TAG across the table and into (and preferably behind) the enemy lines, so he can uncloak and proceed to melt chumps like fleshy marshmallows.
He's still cool as hell, though, so he's gonna see a lotta use in the future. Now that I've advanced to regularly playing 300 point games (which is the standard. I've graduated past the 150 to 200 point training-wheels games now), I think I'll find room for him and his 110 point price tag.

Every model in the game comes equipped with some sort of CC capability, Lo.'Even models without a designated CC weapon (like a knife or whatever), can bash enemies with their fist or the butt of their rifle- damage is applied according to their strength stat.

There are a handful of models that are pretty much CC specialists. One of the models I'll discuss in my next Xenos Friends post is called the Speculo Killer. She's a lovely alien girl who shows up in the enemy deployment zone and impersonates enemy troopies. It works similar to TO Camo, but is even harder for the opponent to succeed in discovering her- right up until she starts stabbing everyone with a Monofilament Sword.Monofilament Swords more or less insta-gib EVERYTHING (roll a 12 or better, or DIE), and this includes TAGS.She's kinda of a risky investment- she can fail her Infiltrate roll and end up having to be deployed normally (A Sword is kinda useless at range, so it hurts to fail that roll). She could be discovered immediately (it's unlikely, but it happens, and she'll be IMMEDIATELY gunned down). She could whiff when trying to stab her first victim (also unlikely, but the end result of bullets to the face will be the same), or her intended victim could survive the attack (also resulting in bullets to the face).Never the less, if my opponent suspects she's in the list (lists are secret in Infinity), it will COMPLETELY change his deployment and first turn plans. I've used Speculo Killer to insta-kill a TAG in my first turn, and since she's well known as a VIP killer, opponents will bunch up during deployment, with guns facing in every direction, to prevent her from pulling a Sneaky Sneaky and killing the most valuable thing she can get at.That Sniper you deployed on a rooftop all by himself?Yeah, I'll stab him in the throat, re-cloak, and then creep at the next guy.She terrifies opponents, and yes- I luvs her, too. Even though every now and then she gets caught out there and dies lickety-split, the 'scare factor' of her possibly showing up TOTALLY messes the enemy deployment, so she's worth every point if you ask me.

Most of the CC units in Infinity are Infiltrating or Drop Troops. They fly in (or are teleported, or have cool jetpack-y things, or whatevs) to the enemy deployment zone in the early game and attempt to wreak havoc.It is very unlikely a CC guy will make it across the table intact to come to grips with the enemy, so getting in the enemy's face is usually accomplished via some wacky method of deployment.

The new Ko Dali model (the pick at the top o' da page) is a drop troopie. Her dual assault pistols have tusks, if you look closely. Ko Dali was previously a loyal soldier from the Yu Jing army, but she was 'Sepsitorized' (mind-slaved) by da Xenos, and she works for us now.:)To quote a Yu Jing player I was discussing this with:'Waaaah. Waaaah. *sniffle* Grimy aliens steal our troopies.'

Infinity IS very shooty, and their are a lotta very powerful weapons in the game. But even far into the future, a brick to the face is still every bit as effective as it ever was.The is no Infinity equivalent of the Black Templars that I can think of, however. As far as I know, there's no troopies with negative Will Power statistics.;)